Football Tournament of the Olympic Games - Overview

The oldest and most traditional international tournament in world football.
After serving as a demonstration sport at the some of the first Olympic
Games, the football tournament of the Olympic Games reached its peak in the
1920s when the tournament must be regarded as the world championship of
that time.
However, with the introduction of a proper World Cup in 1930, the status
of the tournament diminished. Especially, as only amateur players were
allowed to participate, the tournament was for many years dominated by
state amateurs from Eastern Europe. To counter this, and raise the status
of Olympic football, professional players were allowed to participate in
the 1980s, though subject to certain restrictions, first regarding prior
World Cup experience (something that appears to have applied since at
least 1960, also for the Eastern European countries) and then regarding
player age (U23).

Player eligibility

1908 to 1956
Only amateur footballers were admitted. Professional footballers were excluded.
1960
Only those amateur players who had not been registered for the 16 squads qualified
for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, were admitted. Professionals were excluded.
1964
Only amateurs could take part in the competition, while professionals were
excluded. But all those players who had taken part in the preliminary or final
matches of the 1962 World Cup, were excluded. This last particular qualification
clause was not applicable to the representative amateur teams from the national
associations of Africa and Asia.
1968 to 1976
Only amateurs were admitted. Professionals were excluded.
1980
Only amateurs were admitted, while professionals were excluded. But all those
European and South American players who had participated in the 1978 World Cup
matches (final stage and qualifiers), were excluded.
1984
For the first time, also the professional players were eligible for the Olympic
Games. But with an exception: all those European and South American footballers
who had taken part in previous World Cup matches (final phase and qualifiers)
were automatically excluded. During the first rounds of the 1984 Olympic qualifiers,
the rules were still under debate and that caused some misunderstandings about the
employment of amateurs or professionals.
1988
The 1984 rules were maintained also for the 1988 edition, but with an additional
paragraph: those European and South American footballers who had previously played
less than 90 minutes in one single match of the World Cup, were eligible.
1992
The competition was reserved to all those footballers born on or after the day
01-08-1969.
1996 to 2016
The competition was open to Under-23 teams. But for the final phase, every team
could add three "over age" players.